Winners, losers in trade-deadline deals

http://www.cincypost.com/2004/08/02/basenotes08-02-2004.html Winners, losers in trade-deadline deals By Ken Davidoff Newsday We've become accustomed to late rallies in New York this year, and the non-waiver trading deadline followed suit. Just when we were prepared to write off this week as our most boring experience since the "Sex and the City" finale, the Yankees and Red Sox delivered. Having waited all week for these trades to happen, let's not waste any more time. Here's our view of the week's winners and losers: Winners 1. Red Sox. They unloaded the guy who seemed the least interested in being there, Nomar Garciaparra, and upgraded their area of greatest concern, their defense. Remember when Tony Clark's hard grounder went off David Ortiz's glove in the June 30 game at Yankee Stadium? That doesn't happen if Doug Mientkiewicz is playing first for Boston. And Orlando Cabrera, freed from the Montreal gulag, should be thrilled to join his first pennant race. Lest we forget: The Yankees' failure to acquire Randy Johnson is a huge lift for the Red Sox, who never had a chance in that derby thanks to Johnson's dislike for Curt Schilling. 2. Diamondbacks. Kudos to them for standing up to the whiny Johnson and telling him, "No trade for you." As much as Johnson refuses to believe it, his team can compete next year with him as its ace. If the D-Backs can re-sign Richie Sexson and if some of the struggling youngsters find themselves, Arizona can reassert itself in baseball's most balanced division. Moreover, the Diamondbacks received some promising youngsters from the Dodgers in return for aging center fielder Steve Finley. 3. Marlins. Their underrated front office picked up catcher Paul Lo Duca and setup man Guillermo Mota from the Dodgers, filling their two biggest holes, as well as former Marlin Juan Encarnacion in return for pitcher Brad Penny, first baseman Hee Seop Choi and a minor-leaguer. If they can play nice with manager Jack McKeon, who has clashed with players this year, the defending world champions can make another run at the postseason. 4. Yankees. Not getting Johnson is a blow to the ego of the entire organization. But unloading Jose Contreras, who seemed to drain the energy of everyone around him with his roller-coaster of a career, for Esteban Loaiza is a decent fallback option. Loaiza is no Big Unit, but he'll be steadier than Contreras. Losers 1. Dodgers. For a team already in first place, they certainly were willing to mix things up. This appeared to be a club greater than the sum of its parts, and now those parts have been seriously reshuffled. LoDuca was regarded as a team leader, and Mota served as a key piece of Los Angeles' bullpen, its greatest strength. We wonder whether Penny, Choi, Finley and Brent Mayne will justify general manager Paul DePodesta's effort. 2. Mets. An American League source said that in spring training, the Mets could have dealt Jose Reyes and Scott Kazmir to Texas for Alfonso Soriano and Mark Teixeira. That seems like a far better deal than Friday's swap of Kazmir for Tampa Bay's Victor Zambrano. Rick Peterson is a great pitching coach, but Zambrano will be his greatest challenge. And Kris Benson makes us wary, as do all underachievers who suddenly find themselves in their walk year (see: Sidney Ponson, 2003). 3. White Sox. We already can predict this one: By season's end, Chisox manager Ozzie Guillen will be wondering why Contreras always gets crushed by the Twins. 4. Rangers. They worked it all over, getting in on the Benson talks and completing a trade for Larry Walker before Walker refused to waive his no-trade clause. But now they seem ill-equipped to handle the perennially late-surging Athletics. Neutral 1. Cubs. We can see Garciaparra playing out of his mind, or we can see him becoming even more bitter. And the Cubs didn't do anything to address their unimpressive bullpen. 2. Twins. Having done nothing besides dump Mientkiewicz, they'll win their division. However, you can't like their playoff chances at all. Publication Date: 08-02-2004 -- ◆ From: 140.113.189.133
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